Open-source EE design tools

When doing test and measurement often the mechanical fixtures and the software get the most attention. My users like the fixtures because they are shiny as they sit on the bench and the software because the GUI is pretty and it's their direct link to the functionality. The electronics that glues these two together doesn't get the credit it deserves, but it's a critical part of the system.

My electronic designs are usually not incredibly complicated. Perhaps a few amplifiers or some simple signal-conditioning filters or, occasionally, a micro-controller when the computer can't do the job by itself. Most often these designs are so simple that my schematic is in my notebook and the design never gets past the solder-less breadboard, or maybe the soldered perf-board, level.Click here to read the rest of this article on Test & Measurement World.